In thinking of gender equity I always go back to experience of my grandaunt, Virginia Hagger, who faced significant barriers in pursuing her dream of becoming an engineer in the 1930s. Despite her talent and determination, she was denied opportunities simply because she was a woman. She became the first female engineering student in Canada, yet her journey was fraught with challenges that ultimately prevented her from completing her degree.

Her experience highlights the importance of gender equity and the loss of potential when talent is overlooked. Today, while progress has been made, there is still much work to be done. By 2050, 75% of jobs will be related to STEM, yet less than 30% of STEM professionals are women, and only 13% of engineers in Australia are female. This disparity underscores the need for action.

I joined CEOs for Gender Equity to learn, listen, and contribute to making faster progress together. Diverse teams perform better, and we must create inclusive workplaces where everyone feels inspired to contribute. It is our responsibility to drive meaningful, positive change.

At Arup, our purpose is to shape a better world through sustainable development and socially useful work. To live up to this purpose, we strive to ensure our staff is representative of the communities we serve, starting with inclusivity.

We are committed to creating an inclusive working environment based on fairness and respect. We aim to recruit talented people from diverse backgrounds, provide equitable opportunities, and ensure our people feel safe to be themselves.

We are working towards a 40:40:20 gender balance, with a minimum of 50% women in vacation student, graduate, and leadership hires. In 2022, our gender pay gap on base salary was 17%, which is below the industry average of 25.3%, but still far from zero. Our new office features a parents' room and all-gender toilets, reflecting our commitment to creating a supportive environment for all employees.

We have adopted a flexible working approach for all staff and provide parental and carer leave benefits. We maintain zero tolerance for sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination and offer family and domestic violence leave and support. Our parents and carers portal supports employees with caring responsibilities and their line managers.

We run a sponsorship program for women and are signatories to the United Nations Women's Empowerment Principles. Arup is a WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality citation organisation and a Champion of Change Coalition organisation (Consult Australia Group).

We offer Women in Engineering Scholarships at Curtin University to support women in engineering. Additionally, we partner with Curtin University for the Girls Engineering Tomorrow (GET) outreach program, which provides career mentoring and maths tutoring to high school students. This program is increasing the representation of women in engineering in Western Australia.

We are currently designing an emerging leaders career pathways program for women in Arup WA to foster leadership and growth.